Hadewijch was a 13th-century mystic and poet from the Duchy of Brabant, likely born in Antwerp around 1200. As a member of the Beguine movement, she served as a spiritual leader for a community of women, though she also lived a wandering life following periods of opposition. Her extensive literary output, composed primarily in a Brabantian form of Middle Dutch, includes visions, prose letters, and various poetic forms. She is recognized as a significant figure in medieval Dutch literature and a major influence on the mystic John of Ruysbroeck.